I know how to kill a Jade!!

Overwater it! My Mom had a big beautiful jade that we planted at her winter home in florida. Unfortunately it didn't survive the automatic watering system during the sumer when mom was not there. The only other thing that might have happned is it got stolen. (there was almost no trace of it except for a few roots)

I also have two jade cuttings, one of which I almost killed by overwatering, then succeeded in killing it with my cats. (they chewed it to pieces, I even tried to root the cat-chewed pieces, but to no avail)

So in conclusion, Jades are tough, but not invincible. Especially with an expert cactus killer like me. LOL

Borrego, one easy way to post pictures is to post them on photobucket.com, & put the second link in your text.
Obviously it is not a good idea to prune plants while flowering  I had to do mine out of necessity.
The only thing I have noticed is I have one I need to water more. The combination of the severe pruning and Santa Anna winds seemed to result in more drying. It will come back, though.
Annaneaves, it takes a greater skill to grow these plants in your zone. I never could grow a cactus or succulent when living in a colder zone. Most varieties easily thrive in my zone with minimal care - the last time I re-potted, I quit counting at 300 of them.

I was too scared to prune my Jade back too far. I thought it needed leaves for photosynthesis or somethng. Hooray! i'm chopping it off tonight!
b I have to chop it off b/c it is so top heavy the whole thing is lying on the ground. :(
b

In a post with a Jade question I put a foto of a pruned C ovata.
They are strong shrubs, sometimes a few internodes will try up but it will recuperate it self well.
Only wath out for watering when it has no leaves.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cacti/msg0115535831477.html?18

Crassula ovata victim in gangland murder.....or

I Whacked my Jade Plant

by I. M. Acultivar

I have a few bonsaied jade and one is like a small tree but I cut off the base branches and the thick trunks grow straight up. Whe I cut that one I just shorten the tops always keeping the good form because I never like it to look hacked. The little cuttings get rootone and go into the ground. Jade is so common but in this form it is very unique.

Denise, yes I remember you.
Great, I applaud those who have the courage to cut plants back. I'm so glad all of you jumped in on this thread including our tease, Jeff.
Denise yes I sent those plants to you, 'Breakdancer' should not be released yet to anyone please, has it flowered for you? When it does I would like a picture for the horticulturist that gave it to me. Did yours crest?

I think I may have accidentally found out the secret to make 'Jade' flower, even in a 4" pot. Bind up their toes, (roots) like the Chinese used to do. The tighter the pot gets the better your chance of it flowering. My 'Blu Vogel' (Crassula arborescens) is in flower also. Norma

Norma,

Glad you remember the Haworthia fiasco! I spend much time looking longingly at my Haworthia collection, saying, "oh, that's one I got from Norma..." over and over. I still have most of the labels you sent with detailed info on them. At the time, I had no idea how valuable that was, but I've since learned...

I assume you mean (by "bind up their toes"...) keep the buggers in a small pot to let them get rootbound? Even that doesn't work for me here in the midwest. **sigh** I've been growing very nice (though not big by CA standards...) Jades for many years and have yet to get one to flower... =~(

'Break Dancer" has not flowered for me. I love it, though. I see it as a crested ovata or arborescens (more likely the later, IMO...) It's so very unique, and it makes me feel **special** for having one, because I've never been able to find ANYthing about it. I'd love to see a pic of the one you gave me a cutting from, Norma!

Denise in Omaha

I have a jade plant that is very, very old and it was given to me by my grandmother about 4 years ago. It slowly began dropping leaves and sometimes entire branches. It has continued to do this over the years and it has left my jade looking very bare with only growth on the ends of the limbs and nothing in the center around the trunk. It is VERY leggy. I was reading about people cutting back the jade and basically letting the plant start over, but I am curious as to how to do this. And also is there any way that the branches I cut off can be rerooted?

So, I hacked pretty much every branch off and held my breath, and i've got teeny tiny leaves coming out on 2 of the branches already! I made something grow!!! Thank you for all the advice and help.
b

I've heard that plucking off the smaller, newer leaves helps make a jade focus on becoming bushy (as opposed to growing taller??) whats the scoop on that? maybe that could help with thickining the trunk too?

Your notes are encouraging to me. I see your are all learning, I don't know who to respond to first, I will give a general message,
1. racheloo read the above messages,
2. becca gro , read her message
3. monarific read the above messages
4. Denise encourage the rest of them to do what you did
I'm proud of you
5. I sent the Echinopsis. They may not be the hybrids. only the one I put names on are the hybrids, if I don't know both parents they are not the hybrids. They are B ds. So even if they were tiny they grew up well for you?
6. I don't send out plants to strangers. Only people who have been active on this forum.
7. I don't have unlimited funds for postage.
8. Denise you were honored to get one. Do not give that to any one please. Or I'm in big trouble, It's a sport of Blau vogle. (German) 'Blue Bird' we don't know yet how that happened.
9. jover good advise, thank you
10 Annaneaves good lesson to read and study. They just don't like humidity. They need very dry cruel conditioins, root bound, like the chinese used to do to the feet of women.

11. Baci, C. ovata, please = (Jade) can tolerate cold weather if kept dry, bone dry. Starting Oct 1 EAsterners, please give very little water even during the summer months, because of the humidity, which they absorb during the night. They flower in England they should flower for all of you as well. WE should ask our British friends how they grow them.
12. Rita a good lesson to the others. Notice where Rita lives.
13. Baci good picture quality,

I want to thank all of you for pitching in here, you contributed valuable lessons.
No proof reading tonight, sorry.
Norma

Hello all - Well, I am going to do it. My jade looks, well, real bad. I going to cut it down.

I remembered this conversation from last year, and was looking for the picture (from Denise, I think?) of what it looked like, after the plant was cut back. I would like to see a picture, again, before I cut.....

Looks like the link from Denise was cut - darn, I remember it being a good picture, too! Do you Denise, or anyone else have a picture of what your jade looked like, after you cut it back?

Thanks,

Sandy

Sandy,

I don't have the pic anymore, but it's pretty easy to do. Just cut it back below the last set of leaves on each branch. Now, if your's has lost a lot of lower leaves, you might want to go even further back. When you get done, you should have the main trunk and a couple inches or so of each bare branch left. Within a few weeks, you should see some new leaves emerging from the branches. It may take it a year or two to look really great (depends on how much sun you give it...) but it's worth the wait. I cut back a 'Hobbit' early this spring and it's got new compact growth that looks great. This is a small plant, mind you (it's in a 4" bonsai pot and it's only about 5" tall...), but look at the new growth:

{{gwi:670995}}

It was a stump with four very short branches when I got done. Since we're going into winter, yours may be a bit slower to grow, but that wouldn't stop me from doing it now. I would just put it in a south window if possible, right against the glass. Giving it as much sun as you can will make the new growth compact and the leaves may even get a little red tinge.

Good luck!

Denise in Omaha

Thanks Denise, I am gonna do it today, we have nothing but rain forecasted - probably won't be doing much outside today! Thanks for your quick reply!

Sandy

p.s. wish me luck!

Denise your Hobbit jade looks awesome. I am now a member of the "I whacked my jade" club. I did it today and there are no regrets. The fact that this thread is still active after almost a year tells me there's a lot of interest in this. Be brave yall and you'll be glad.

Hi All - Well, I just did it! I guess that now makes me a member of the "I wacked my jade" club, as well.

I will try to send pictures of it's progress, once I get the right equipment. Thankfully, Christmas is near by.....

Sandy

Okay, I did it, too! I have nothing but stump left. Now what do I do? Should I water it? Fertilize it? I just repotted it a little more than a month ago. Or do I just leave it alone? Thanks, Christy

Good for you Christy. And now, its extremely important for you to...do nothing! Here's an update on mine. It has seen nights as cool as the low 40s. Today has got to be in the low 90s. Its in full blazing sun and completely exposed to the elements.I fertilized it with cactus fertilizer 3 days before I chopped it and I haven't watered, fertilized or cared for it in any way. I'm sure that cramped clay pot gets very droughty and she has seen a couple of pretty severe thunderstorms too. AND she has about a half inch of new growth all around the tops of her stubs. When frost threatens I will set her on the porch where she is protected from frost and rain. But can still enjoy the fluctuating temps and the sun.

Christy,

If you're growing your Jade inside, just water it when it's very dry. Give it the absolute most sun you can give it - against the glass in a south window is best. If possible, leave it outside in full sun until the nights get down to freezing, but do keep it very dry while it's outside. I only water mine on warm sunny days, early so they have a chance to dry out some before the cool of night, and only if they're predicting several sunny days in a row. Cool and overcast along with a wet plant can result in rot. Just keep in mind that sun-sun-SUN is the key to the new growth staying compact.

Denise in Omaha

Well, I have my bigger one upstairs. I live in a 3-level Townhouse, and if I put the plant outside, it is well below the 'treeline' with full shade. So, I have it in the 3rd story South facing window, with the window open. My DH loves it cold at night so he's loving it! Thank goodness I have a warm comforter! I'm hoping to see it flower this year, but I won't be all that suprised if it doesn't. Next Spring, I'll move them all outside for the summer, they'll get sun out back then, and try again next year.

PS. I do have a lightcart in my basement. Would that help in the full sun department or does artificial lighting just not work? Thanks! Christy

Hi Christy,
Your husband and your jade should get along very well! Jades are free spirits that want to sleep beneath the stars and feel the 4 winds blow. I bought a small Gollum the other day. After a couple days and nights outside you wouldn't believe how much better it looks! I think they enjoy the fluctuating temps as well as the full sun. They get what they need to drink from the dew! You could use your lightcart to supplement the jade but nothing beats natural sunlight.

Hi, We have many jades that were transplanted when we moved over 40 years ago and are still thriving. I hack and whack them all the time and just stick the cuttings in dirt and they grow great. All of them are just setting blooms now. They bloom several times a year. We have a claw-foot bathtub filled with a forest of them outside and throughout the garden. I can't seem to kill them. I am looking forward to cutting some way back as described above to achieve some new shapes.

Well, I'm glad I read all these posts. Now, I'm going home and whack my 2 jades. They're both good size in 10 inch pots and their trunks are nice but I want them larger so thanks to your posts, I know what to do. :)

S

I just whacked my jade too. The base is about 2 inches in diameter. I only water it about once a month (after the soil feels dry) in the dormant season, but it must be too much. Anyway, I whacked off half of the tall, thick branches that were experiencing rot. Then I realized that the soil was still damp, so I left the remaining (seemingly unrotted branch). Do you think I should risk repotting the whacked, but unrotted base into dryer soil?

Just out of curiosity...where do you live? I water mine about once a month and now I'm worried it's too much if yours is suffering from overwatering! If you're in a colder area than I am, maybe that can be the explanation.

As to your question, I'm no expert at all, but I'm thinking you did the right thing by getting rid of the rotted branches. I think repotting after all that the plant went through might shock the plant. Just let the soil dry out. Make sure you take off ALL the rotted branches. I just don't think it's worth the risk to repot now. It'll dry out soon enough. Curious to see what others say...

Best of luck,
Gabi

Whats interesting to me is that tortuga has branches that rotted but the base is OK. If I understand correctly. Very odd. Could your jade have frozen tortuga? What do the roots look like? Normally if overwatering or poor drainage are the culprit rot would start at the roots and base of the plant, not the branches. I can't imagine a jade rotting if it is only watered once a month. What kind of soil and what kind of pot is the plant in? I hope the container has drain holes. I just feel like theres some other issue here.

Isn't it strange? It hasn't frozen. I brought it in well before the first freeze this Fall. It's in a mixture of potting soil and coarse sand and it has drain holes. The base feels firm and healthy, but some of the branches are mushy, and one had even rotted to hollowness. Could a pest of some sort have caused this? I love this plant! I've had it for 8 years.

Don't know but wish you luck.

my jade did that once. it is old and has always grown fine. I whack mine almost as often as i water it. the cuttings i have taken from it are growing as big as the original. one day, i noticed a branch was soft. the base was fine. I think i had cut this branch too far. Either it got infected from where it was cut or it had so few leaves, the plant just closed it off to conserve. either way, i just cut the branch off and everything seems fine. so, everyone has all these beautiful plants and bathtubs with jade forests.... cripes, lets see em already.

Hi, I have been reading the posts on this thread with interest as I grow 2 jades here in the UK and mine flower most years for me. As far as I recall they are 8 yrs old. They get full sun, plenty of water and a little food during the summer months outside, but potted. They live in the house during the winter when they are in an unheated room that keeps them frost free. I keep them very dry at this time of year. Also, they only have the natural daylight with no artificial light during autumn and winter which triggers them to flower.
They are in terracotta pots for added stability and grow in gritty soil. They are around 1.5ft high with trunks 4inches in diameter.
Here's a couple of pics taken last year when they had to move into the greenhouse temporarily.
{{gwi:375912}}
{{gwi:671000}}
Regards, Gill.

Gill, beautiful plants. still working on getting some of mine posted.

Hi Tortuga,
I think if your soil is too water retentive. Though sand allows water to run through quickly, it holds water, unless of course it is VERY course grained. I would suggest repotting and adding small river rocks or high fired clay to the mix. I also would not use compost but rather soil conditioner or pine bark fines. I mix the pine bark fines with the small stones (about the size of what you'd put in a fish tank) and high fired clay particles. You can also used decomposed granite or lava rocks. I don't think this is because of soil though. Rot from too much water starts at the roots. It is either a disease or insect infestation or it got colder than you thought. They don't like it below 55F. I would cut all of the rotted part off. Also, you don't have to leave a single leaf on the tree when you chop it so that couldn't be the cause of a branch rotting. I know many, including myself, that whack them clean to the soil, and the leaves pop right back out. I defoliate my bonsaied jade as well to get more ramification and smaller leaves. If it continues to rot, you may want to get a systemic pesticide and treat the soil or repot it in sterile soil. Just mix your soil and bake it at 160F for 30 minutes or so. This should help.

{{gwi:671003}}

I don't normally like taking a picture from this angle because it never comes out good but at least it gets all the plants from one shot. It's a lot of jade plants with various other plants sprinkled in between.

Hi everyone,

I have a question concerning some results I'm seeing from whacking back one of my jades.

I have three jades which live indoors, each of which was barely pruned over the last few years and they had gotten extremely leggy to the point of being downright ugly. So after reading these posts and steeling my nerve, I took the plunge and whacked the bejeezus out of one of the three, cutting the three main branches back to about 2-3" long off of the main trunk. This was on May 5th. The plant had last been watered about 1-1/2 weeks before that.

But now I notice that the 1/2"-thick cut ends have dried and shriveled quite a bit and I'm wondering if I have done something wrong, like maybe the plants were too dry before the cutting. I added some water a few days after I noticed this (though I think I wasn't supposed to do that), but to no avail. I'm just findnig it hard to imagine some fresh new buds emerging from the shriveled, dried-up ends, which you can see here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasoncain/500870950/.

So I was hoping someone could tell me: is this a normal reaction for the plant? If not, what should I have done differently? And can it be salvaged, maybe by cutting it back a little more to remove the dried part and doing it right this time? And how long after a watering/feeding should the whacking have been done? I'd like to cut back the other two plants, but want to figure out what I'm doing first.

Thanks,
Jason

Mine did that, too. Then those shriveled up tips fell off, and the new growth came from the tips. So.........LEAVE IT ALONE!!!!!! :) Christy

Thanks Christy, it's good to hear that there's hope for a full recovery. As god-awful ugly as the plant was, I'd had it awhile and didn't want to think I'd murdered it. Anyway, hopefully it will come back well in the next couple years.

Thanks for the advice! I'll let it do it's thing and stop messing with it for awhile.

Jason

Mine never did that, but I didn't wait to water. I maintained a regular watering schedule for which I use a moisture meter. When it says dry, they get water. I think you could go either way. Let them shrivel up and fall off and new growth will start from there, or you could cut them off little at a time unitl you get to fresh stem and water. Make sure they're getting plenty of sun.

I have a young jade plant that I rooted from a leaf. It is now about 8 inches tall and growing beautifully. However, it is only just one tall stem. How do I get it to branch out? I tried pinching off a couple of the lower leaves, but so far see no sign of growth from these places. It's been a few weeks. I really hate to just cut it back from the top. Is that what I am going to have to do?

Hi, Anne, I rooted a cutting for my brother a while ago, and for a long time his jade only grew as a single stem plant. However, it did finally branch; and, these branches, in turn began to branch. So, yours will probably branch eventually...or, you could force a branching "crown" by pruning. (I've just gathered the courage and knowledge [from forum members/tutorials] to begin pruning my plants).

How thick is the trunk on your jade?
And how much sunlight does it receive?

Maybe it's looking for sunlight? (wildcard guess)

Josh

Thanks for your reply, Josh. The trunk is about the thickness of a good sized ball point pen......not like a Bic, it's bigger than that, but not as big as a tube of Chapstick. How's that for a description! There is a small plant coming up right beside this one and it seems to be growing well, too, although it's only an inch or so tall. It has several little leaves, however. It was there before I pinched those two lower leaves.

It gets lots of sunlight and other bright light. I have it on a windowsill and it gets the morning sun, until about noon, then good light the rest of the day. It seems to bend toward the light, and I turn the pot frequently. It just has a kind of graceful bend to it.

Anne

Hi Anne,

I have a similar problem with mine. I grew it from a clipping about 2 years ago, and it's just gotten larger and larger, but just straight up as a single branch. It's about 3/4" around at the base and maybe a foot high. Or it would be except that it recently toppled over from being top heavy. So I supported it, turned the pot, whereupon it grew some more, straightened up, kept growing, then toppled over to the other side. It's relentless and courageous, but not terribly bright.

Will pruning help, and most importantly, how do I prune it when there are no "branches," just cut off the top?! That seems awfully cold to me.

SillyJade (Lee)

hi guys n girls well im in scotland ( glasgow) and have a jade that is around 15 years old its 2" to 3" at the base and stands about 1 foot tall ( the chineese use these as hierlooms as they can pass through many generations you can hold a plant that was grown and alive when grand or great grand parents cared for )

any way on the old lopping of bits i choped a 1" thick branch from my mother about 2 years ago and its almost the same sizeabout .
i water around 2 a month to 3 times in summer and may be once a month wintter.
iv never heard of black out flowering ie keep it dark for 24 hours like in a cellar like can be used to force some crops to flower early such as totties.
i also repot once a year ( was told to size up in minimal scales by a chineese guy that had a 4 foot tree in his shop the trunk was around 6 to 7 : thick fantastic tree. he also suggested cracking in an egg straight to the top soil an letting the protein help the plant ( never done this )
he said let it root bound its self and the repot tightly

as for the main point chop away iv rooted the leaves straight into soil to form a wild shrub type bush more leave that branches ( kinda like an easter or christmas cacti)

but finnaly they grow any were if not pampred to much remember there native area ( the far east ) has very temperate climates no were near like the sunny la and california coasts

never had a flower although my easter an xmass cati flower 2 3 times a year

peace people

oh what are the right conditions for flowering is there an optimum amount of light , and watering periods .

mine are all lovley and green and full exactly like gills are minus the flowers they get morning and afternoon sun full ( when its sunny here in scotland :)
and evning light that is quite bright ( in scotland the day light period is long in summer) do they get to much ambiant light as they are never realy in total darkness should i force flower in autum by putting them in a dark room for a few days would love them to flower ta everone

Darran, a note of correction:

Crassula ovata is native to South Africa. This plant grows in mineral soils on rocky hillsides.
It receives little moisture, save for that provided by seasonal rains and drifting banks of fog.

Josh

josh im sure they also grow in southern china possibly gaundong the were ever were when i grew up in hong kong may be through gardens as i was young , we called them money trees ( dindnt do me any good though) i thought they were possibly south american but i never said they originated in china im sure but that they use them as new year gifts they bring the family good luck and give the home a positive feng shui if your into that

so what your saying is little is best and not to often for watering i think i can decipher :o)

what about photo period for flowering the jade plant

ok so they ant fae the far east but they did grow there when i was growing up a mear geographical mishap

so 50/50 pearlite and soil and put the pot on clay pebbles

oh they didnt grow in mineral or rocky places in hong kong ( dills corner) they were all over the side of the hills from bushes to trees big fat leaves on them
and next to a toy factory that made those rubber/ plastic divers and sharks and action man quality times.

regards
sativadarran

They'll grow outdoors as long as they don't freeze in the winter.
A soil mix with fast drainage is important to avoid rotting the roots.
I would rather grow a Jade in pure Perlite than a 50/50 mix of Perlite and Soil.

I have never heard of forcing a Jade to flower.
If they do flower, it is right around Christmas in December.
Norma has mentioned that pruning the tips of Jades in September can help
them bloom, since they bloom on new growth. I will try this method from
September - October, depending upon when the weather begins to cool.
As long as Jades are kept fairly dry, they can handle temperatures down
to about 30°F for short periods of time.

Daytime sun, night-time chill, and dry roots.

Josh

Several messages above say that it's easy to grow jade plants outdoors. How about in a place like Seattle? No, it doesn't rain tons here (about 38" per year), but it's often gray and damp except for a few weeks in the summer. On the plus side, it doesn't get that cold either -- even in midwinter, average lows are still above freezing.

Obviously this wouldn't be sunny or dry, so....

I have four baby jades, each in their own four inch pot. They get plenty of sun in a south facing window, but now their stems or branches are getting leggy. Most of the stems are about six inches long.

Should I cut them all the way down to where they join the main trunk or should I just cut them down about three or four inches?

Is this the time of year to do it?